Vault of the Vampire (book)
Vault of the Vampire is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Keith Martin, illustrated by Martin McKenna and originally published in 1989 by Puffin Books. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 38th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-032877-7). There are currently no announced plans to republish this book as part of the modern Wizard series. Creation Background In this book the player arrives in a small village in the province of Mortvania and is sent by some villagers to Castle Heydrich, to rescue a girl who was kidnapped by a Vampire, the Evil Count Reiner Heydrich, and hopefully kill the Count. The player can find various members of the Heydrich family in the castle, like Katarina Heydrich, the Evil sister of the Count, who is actually seventy years old, but drinks the blood of virgins to look young and Wilhelm Heydrich, an insane cousin of the Count. After killing the count, the player must also destroy Katrina Heydrich as Katrina was actually scheming to kill the Count so she could be the Countess. Introduction The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (see Game System) Unique Rules This book is unusual in that it uses a faith score (1d6 plus 3 roll). Unlike the usual three scores, the faith score can exceed its Initial value. A player's faith is tested throughout the book in manner similar to Testing Your Luck. The player can also get certain "Afflictions" during the adventure. Equipment List *Sword *Leather Armour *Shield *Backpack *Lantern *10 Provisions Cover and Illustrations '''Cover The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Les Edwards. #Price of 1st Impression #Price of 3rd~5th Impressions Illustrations The interior illustrations were by Martin McKenna. There were 30 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 5, 13, 22, 34, 45, 54, 70, 78, 90, 102, 114, 123, 136, 148, 159, 172, 185, 200, 211, 221, 240, 255, 266, 280, 313, 341, 351, 358, 382 and 400. The colour map on the inside front cover was by Steve Luxton. Intertextual References The location of Mauristatia was reused by Jonathan Green in Howl of the Werewolf, although this was set in one of its provinces, Lupravia. Sequel The book had a sequel, Revenge of the Vampire. This was the only direct sequel to a gamebook to be written by an author other than the series' co-creators. Other Media Main Characters YOU: Hero of Vault of the Vampire *Barandrun - Forester *Doktor Karl Adenauer - Sage *Doktor Pieter Faustus - Physician *Gunthar Heydrich - Healer *Jandor - Ghost *Karl-Heinz Matthaus - Alchemist *Katarina Heydrich *Lothar - Castellan *Reiner Heydrich - Vampire *Siegfried Heydrich *Snivel - Gnome *Svetlana *Valderesse - Ranger *Wilhelm Heydrich Locations *Castle Heydrich *Femphrey *Forest of Phantoms *Jurghofen *Leverhelven *Mauristatia *Mortvania *Pritzbad *River Bloodsedge *Saarven *''The Hart's Blood'' Encounters *Animated Armour *Baobhan Sith *Brown Bear *Demon Steed *Giant Raven *Great Rat *Gnome *Homunculus *Horned Vampire Bat *Huge Ghoul *Human - Forester/Forest Ranger *Katarina Heydrich *Lothar *Mastiff *Necrotic Jelly *Count Reiner Heydrich *River Snake *Shadow *Spectre *Stench Ghoul *Thassalosses - Minor/Major *Tigerskin Rug *Vampire Mist *Wilhelm Heydrich *Wolves *Wood Golem *Wraith *Zombies Further Notes *Section 350 has a noticeable error. The section says: "If your luck score was 12, your skill score is now 13 ...". Obviously, the reference to luck should read skill instead. *In section 123 there is a word puzzle, the clue being "forward and back". The idea is to take the the first letter forward one in the alphabet, the second back and thereafter repeating this pattern. So the message "idmkp" becomes "hello" when translated. However, the first word contains an error: it is GFGFHO which translates as "hehein". It is supposed to be "herein", so the second G in the word should be a "Q". Interestingly, the accompanying illustration appears to be accurate, with a "Q". This error was corrected in the 5th reprint. Dedication none See Also *''Fighting Fantasy'' *''Island of the Undead'' *''Master of Chaos'' *''Night Dragon'' *''Revenge of the Vampire'' *''Stealer of Souls'' *''Tower of Destruction'' External Links *Character Sheet References * * * Category:1989 books Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series